In 1982, at the time of the outbreak of hostilities in Lebanon, the Syrian Air Force had Su-20 fighter-bombers, as well as one squadron of the latest Su-22M at that time. From the first days of the war, these aircraft were actively used for bombing Israeli positions. On June 10, eight Su-22Ms, each armed with eight FAB-500 bombs, attacked the Israeli headquarters in southern Lebanon. The target was destroyed (with heavy losses for the Israelis) at the cost of the death of seven planes shot down by F-16A fighters of the Israeli Air Force (instead of delivering a massive strike, the Syrians carried out a series of successive raids, while reaching dangerously high heights, which allowed the Israeli air defense to organize an effective response). Another area of application of the Su-22M in Lebanon was aerial reconnaissance (the aircraft were equipped with KKR-1 containers).
In total, during the hostilities in Lebanon, Su-22M fighter-bombers, together with the MiG-23BN, flew 42 sorties, destroying 80 tanks and two battalions of Israeli motorized infantry (with the loss of seven Su-22M and 14 MiG-23BN). During the battles, the more advanced Su-22Ms performed better than the MiG-23BNs.
Israeli tanks destroyed in the airstrike
At the cost of heavy losses, the Syrians managed to stop the enemy's advance along the highway to Damascus. The losses of the Syrian air force could have been much less if they had used more reasonable tactics.
Syrian Su-22Ms continue to fight today, striking Western-backed insurgent positions.
Unlike most Arab countries, Iraq could pay for arms deliveries with "real" money, which, together with its irreconcilable stance towards Israel and the United States, made Iraq an important ally of the USSR. In addition, the country was a counterbalance to Iran both during the reign of the Shah and after the arrival of Ayatollah Khomeini with his extremely hostile policy not only towards the United States, but also towards the Soviet Union.
The first fighter-bombers MiG-23BN began to enter service with the Iraqi Air Force in 1974, about 80 aircraft were delivered in total. These planes received their baptism of fire during the seven-year Iran-Iraq war - one of the bloodiest conflicts of the late 20th century, involving ethnic and religious divisions and the division of disputed oil-rich border regions.
Iraqi MiGs stormed enemy tank columns, participated in the "tanker war" and bombed Iranian cities.
As in other Arab countries, the Su-20 and Su-22 were ordered in parallel. Iraq has used them quite successfully in hostilities against Iran.
Iraqi Air Force Su-22M
During Operation Desert Storm, the Su-20 and Su-22M did not participate in battles. Later, some of the aircraft of this type flew to Iran, where they are still used.
In January-February 1995, the Su-22s of the Peruvian Air Force were involved in hostilities with Ecuador during the next border conflict.
Su-22 Air Force Peru
Ecuadorian infantrymen armed with Russian Igla MANPADS shot down one Su-22 on February 10. Nevertheless, according to Western observers, the superiority of the Peruvian Air Force and the effective actions of strike aircraft predetermined the victory of Peru in this war.
In the armed conflict in Angola, the MiG-23BN, which were piloted by the Cubans, played a significant role. MiGs provided direct air support and attacked enemy strongholds. Their role is very important in the battle of Kuito Kuanavale, which is sometimes called "Angolan Stalingrad" helicopters. In August 1988, South African troops withdrew from Angola, and the Cuban MiG-23 returned to combat duty and support counter-guerrilla operations. During the withdrawal of the Cuban contingent in 1989, all MiG-23BNs returned to Cuba. The Cuban command did not report any losses.
Cuban MiG-23BN
Prior to that, the Cubans fought on their shock MiGs in Ethiopia in 1977-1978, in the Ethiopo-Somali war. Thanks to the help of the USSR and the participation of the Cubans on the side of Ethiopia, this conflict ended in a crushing defeat for Somalia, after which this state practically ceased to exist.
In the early 90s, about 36 MiG-23BN were still in service with Ethiopia. These aircraft took part in the war with Eritrea in the late 90s and early 2000s.
MiG-23BN Air Force Ethiopia
The Angolan Air Force used the Su-22M against UNITA guerrillas during the country's civil war. At the final stage of the conflict, the Angolan Air Force, with the help of mercenary pilots from South Africa, managed to defeat the base camps of this group, which led to the conclusion of a peace agreement and the end of the civil war.
Su-17M4 were actively used by the Russian Air Force during the First Chechen War. They were involved in striking the airfield in Grozny, as well as during the battles for the city itself. The effective use of high-precision ammunition was noted to destroy detached fortified buildings.
According to the Air International magazine, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, the Su-17 of all modifications, 32 shock regiments, 12 reconnaissance regiments, one separate reconnaissance squadron and four training regiments were manned.
Of course, if this aircraft were not needed and effective, it was not produced for a long time, in such quantities, and would not be in demand abroad. The export price of these aircraft, according to the magazine, ranged from $ 2 million for the Su-20 (for Egypt and Syria) to $ 6-7 million for the latest modifications of the Su-22M4, purchased by the three Warsaw Pact countries in the late 1980s. For comparison, the closest Western counterpart, the SEPECAT Jaguar, was offered for $ 8 million in 1978.
The Su-17 embodied the optimal combination in terms of price-efficiency criterion, which was the reason for its widespread use and long-term operation. Soviet fighter bombers in their strike capabilities were not inferior to similar Western machines, often surpassing them in flight data.
The MiG-27 fighter-bombers, a further development of the MiG-23B, were one of the most massive and sophisticated aircraft of the Soviet Air Force, adapted for the European theater of operations. However, for almost fifteen years of service, none of them had a chance to take part in real hostilities. Even during the years of the Afghan war, until the very last months, the question of sending them to the 40th Army Air Force did not arise, and therefore the combat exam for them became all the more unexpected.
There were reasons for this. The tasks of the IBA in the Air Force of the 40th Army were regularly performed by the Su-17 of various modifications. The machines, nicknamed "swifts", enjoyed the fame of reliable and unpretentious aircraft, which were, as they say, in their place. In addition, the basing from year to year of aircraft of the same type simplified the maintenance, supply and planning of combat missions, so that objectively the question of switching to another type of fighter-bomber did not arise.
By the fall of 1988, the deadline for the next replacement arrived (according to the established practice, the IBA regiments replaced each other after a year of work in October-November). But the "henchmen" regiments from SAVO, and without that, barely returning from Afghanistan, every now and then broke from their bases, continuing combat work "across the river" from border airfields. There were not so many other regiments that had time to master combat use in mountainous desert conditions in all the Air Force. At the same time, the IBA had one more type of fighter-bomber - the MiG-27, which by the end of the 80s were equipped with over two dozen air regiments.
A natural proposal arose - to send for the replacement of the MiG-27, in favor of which there were several reasons, the main of which was the opportunity to test the aircraft in real combat conditions during the remaining months of the war. At the same time, the question was resolved in the simplest and most reliable way, to which more than one military scientific study was devoted - which of the two machines created according to the same requirements with comparable characteristics, weapons and avionics is more effective.
Despite the presence of the MiG-27K, which had the greatest capabilities and the most respected pilots, the command decided not to include them in the group. The Afghan experience has unambiguously shown that in difficult mountain conditions, far from the calculated "slightly rugged" terrain, it is not possible to use the full potential of the on-board equipment on a high-speed machine. Electronics and sighting systems turned out to be useless when searching for targets in the chaos of rocks, stones and thickets of greenery. Quite often it was impossible to identify targets from a height without prompting from a ground or helicopter gunner. And even the Kayre, the most advanced system available then in front-line aviation, could not take a small-sized strike object for auto-tracking and target designation with short contact and maneuver. The reason was that the lower boundary of the echelon, safe from the Stingers, had been raised to 5000 m, which imposed serious restrictions on the use of the onboard sighting laser-television complex. As a result, small-sized targets on the ground turned out to be beyond the detection range of the guidance equipment installed on the aircraft, since the optimal range of altitudes for the use of KAB-500, UR Kh-25 and Kh-29 lay within 500-4000m. Moreover, the missiles were recommended to be launched at speeds of 800-1000 km / h from a gentle dive, when it was almost impossible to independently see the object of the strike and provide guidance due to the transience of the convergence. Under these conditions, expensive guided munitions remained the weapon of attack aircraft, which operated in close contact with the aircraft controllers.
Another argument was that the MiG-27K carrying the massive Kairu lacked cockpit armor plates, which were by no means superfluous in a combat situation. By the time the MiG-27D and M were sent to "war", they had gone through a special "Afghan" complex of modifications.
The usual version of the MiG-27 equipment consisted of two "five hundred" or four bombs weighing 250 or 100 kg each, placed on the front ventral and underwing assemblies. Most often, FAB-250 and FAB-500 of different types and models, OFAB-250-270 were used. The use of a large caliber also required the nature of the targets, mostly protected and difficult to vulnerable - it was far from always possible to destroy an adobe blower or a thick adobe wall. 2 times (depending on various conditions) was inferior to the FAB-250, not to mention the powerful "half-tones" When hitting light structures, the latter generally had 2.5-3 times higher efficiency. Incendiary bombs ZAB-100-175 with thermite cartridges and ZAB-250-200 filled with a viscous sticky mixture were also used. Although there was nothing especially to burn in the mountains and villages, and the beginning of winter made the ZAB even less effective, the fire strikes gave a great psychological effect As a rule, such "goodies" could cover a fairly large area, and even small burning drops scattered in a wide fan caused severe burns. To defeat manpower, RBK-250 and RBK-500 were used, sweeping away all life with a flurry of explosions within a radius of hundreds of meters.
Suspension ODAB-500 on MiG-27
The use of powerful NAR S-24, nicknamed "nails" in Afghanistan, was in some cases prevented by the limitation of flight altitude, launch from 5000 m could not be aimed, their maximum effective firing range was 4000 meters, about "pencils" C-5 and C-8, and there was no need to say - their aiming range was only 1800-2000 m. For the same reason, the powerful 30-mm six-barreled gun GSh-6-30, which had a rate of fire of 5000 rds / min and a powerful 390-gram projectile, remained the "ballast" … Nevertheless, a full ammunition load for it (260 rounds) was always on board.
In addition to planned strikes, MiG-27s were involved in reconnaissance and strike operations (RUD) - independent search and destruction, more broadly known as "free hunting". For the most part, they were carried out to search for caravans and individual vehicles along paths and roads, which is why the RUD was sometimes deciphered as "reconnaissance of road sections." not to leave the garrisons and outposts. For 95 days of business trips, the pilots of the 134th APIB performed, on average, 70-80 sorties, having 60-70 hours of flight time.
According to the results of the Afghan exam, the MiG-27 proved to be a reliable and durable machine. At the same time, the capabilities of the aircraft and its armament complex were far from being fully utilized, primarily due to the originality of the theater of operations and the nature of the hostilities, which were accompanied by many restrictions.
The fighter-bomber, created to defeat small-sized mobile and stationary targets using a wide range of ammunition, was used exclusively for bombing from high altitudes, which is why most of its sighting equipment and weapons could not be used.
The short-term use in Afghanistan did not allow an adequate assessment of the combat effectiveness of the MiG-27. Nevertheless, it was possible to evaluate some of its advantages: the MiG-27 favorably differed from the Su-17MZ and M4 in the amount of fuel in its internal tanks (4560 kg versus 3630 kg) and, accordingly, had a slightly longer range and duration of flight with an equal load. The more advantageous layout of the equipment in comparison with the "drying" made it possible, if necessary, to expand the radius of action, dispensing with only one ventral PTB-800, while the Su-17 had to carry two tanks of the same capacity at once, which increased the take-off weight, worsened flight performance and reduced the number of weapon suspension points. Loading the MiG-27 for Afghan conditions turned out to be more convenient.
However, the MiG-27 was heavier - even with the same fuel reserve and combat load as the Su-17, the "extra" 1300 kg of the weight of the airframe and equipment made themselves felt, which is why the wing load and lower thrust-to-weight ratio were 10-12% higher (excess kilograms required more fuel consumption of the already more "gluttonous" engine than that of the Su-17). The result was the worst airplane volatility and takeoff characteristics - the MiG-27 took longer to run and climbed more slowly. On landing, it was somewhat simpler, the design features of the all-gate consoles, as well as the carrying properties of the fuselage and slugs, affected the landing speed of the MiG-27, due to which the landing speed of the MiG-27 was 260 km / h versus 285 km / h for the Su-17M4, the mileage was also somewhat shorter …
The MiG-27M was the only modification of the twenty-seventh family to be exported. In addition to the domestic Air Force, India, which for a long time was one of the main buyers of Soviet weapons, became the recipient of the MiG-27. After the delivery in 1981-1982 of a large batch of MiG-23BN, the Indians turned their eyes to the more advanced MiG-27. As a result, an agreement was signed between Moscow and Delhi, which provided for the licensed production of the MiG-27M in India.
MiG-27M Indian Air Force
The Indians appreciated the capabilities of the strike MiGs, and actively used it in hostilities.
"Baptism of fire" MiG-23BN took place in May-July 1999 during the next Indo-Pakistani conflict, this time in Kargil - one of the districts of the states of Jammu and Kashmir. From May 26 to July 15, these aircraft made 155 sorties, 30% of those performed by all Indian strike aircraft in that war. To destroy enemy targets, 57-mm and 80-mm NARs were used, as well as 500-kg bombs, which were dropped by 130 tons - 28% of the entire combat load dropped by Indian pilots on the enemy.
The Indian Air Force operated the MiG-23BN until March 6, 2009. By that time, the total flight time of this type of aircraft amounted to 154,000 hours, 14 aircraft were lost in accidents and disasters.
The MiG-27ML unit from the 9th AE also took part in the Kargil war. The first combat sortie of the Bahadurs was made on May 26 in the Batalik sector. Each of the four fighter-bombers carried forty 80-mm NARs. They attacked the mountainous positions of the Pakistanis. Then they made a second run, during which they fired at the enemy from 30-mm cannons.
They had to meet fierce fire from the ground. On the second call, the engine of flight lieutenant K. Nachiketa burst into flames. The pilot ejected and was captured. Islamabad said that the plane was shot down by air defense, but the Indian side denied this and attributed the loss to engine failure. More in combat missions "Bahadura" suffered no losses, however, in the course of daily operation, in accidents and disasters, the Indian Air Force lost twenty-one MiG-27M.
Where with great tension, MiG-27s were used during the civil war in neighboring Sri Lanka, where government troops fought a fierce armed struggle against the separatist organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In the summer of 2000, the government purchased a consignment of six Ukrainian MiG-27Ms and one MiG-23UB "twin" from the Lvov storage base.
At first, the machines were included in the 5th AE, where they served along with the Chinese F-7, and at the end of 2007, a new 12th squadron was formed from the MiGs, the base of which was the Katunayake airfield, located near the capital airport. The MiGs unexpectedly proved to be extremely effective aircraft, quickly forcing the Tigers to hide their teeth. Among the most important targets they destroyed were the destruction of the LTTE telecommunications center in the Kilinochchi region. The MiG-27 pilots also operated very successfully against small high-speed boats. In general, over 5 months of intense battles, the MiG-27M dropped over 700 tons of bombs on various targets, which largely contributed to the victory of the government forces.
Lankan MiG-27M
The cars that arrived from Ukraine were used by mercenary pilots from South Africa and Europe, some of whom had previously served in the air forces of NATO countries. In their opinion, the MiG-27M turned out to be an excellent aircraft, surpassing the western counterparts of the Jaguar and Tornado in many respects. The MiGs fought in the same ranks with their former opponents, the Israeli Kfirs S.2 / S.7 (7 of these machines were also acquired by Sri Lanka). Moreover, the PrNK-23M turned out to be in practice more perfect than the Israeli IAI / Elbit system, so the MiG-27M were used as leaders, leading the Kfirov group. In the air, the Sri Lankan Air Force did not lose a single MiG. However, on July 24, 2001, a sabotage group of "tigers" managed to carry out a daring raid on the Katunayake base, where they disabled two MiG-27M and one MiG-23UB.
The MiG-27 (especially its later modifications) have never been attack aircraft in the classical representation, but were intended mainly for "remote" destruction of the enemy using
controlled weapon. Being much cheaper than powerful front-line Su-24 bombers, they could inflict fairly effective strikes on firing points, armored vehicles and positions of enemy air defense, creating unprotected gaps in its combat formations, and therefore the decision to withdraw aircraft of this type from the combat composition of the RF Air Force looks like not fully justified.
In conclusion, I would like to tell you about an episode that the author happened to witness. During the large-scale exercises of the Far Eastern Military District, in the fall of 1989, several MiG-27s inflicted a "conditional blow" on the ZKP of the 5th Army (headquarters in Ussuriysk, Primorsky Territory), not far from the village of Kondratenovka.
The attack was carried out suddenly, at extremely low altitude, from different directions. The impetuous flight of these dark green, predatory machines along the glens of the hills, overgrown with spruce and cedar trees, engraved in my memory forever. MiGs managed to pass through the terrain, remaining invisible to operators of ground-based radar stations. The exit from the attack was just as swift. If this were a real blow, there is no doubt that a significant part of the radio stations and command-staff vehicles would have been destroyed and damaged, there would have been significant losses in the command staff. As a result, the control of the 5th Army units would be disrupted. Covering the area "Shilki" were able to briefly "conditionally fire" MiGs only after leaving the attack.
